Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong won the 2026 National League MVP Award on Thursday, taking all 30 first-place votes from the BBWAA over finalists Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Brewers second baseman Brice Turang.

Per Yahoo Sports, Ohtani received 26 second-place votes, with the other four going to Turang, Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski and Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber. Crow-Armstrong, 24, is the first Cub to win the award since Kris Bryant in 2016 and the 13th winner in franchise history.

ESPN reports he told reporters, "I'm just blessed to have the ability that I do," and that he was thrilled former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen made the announcement on MLB Network.

The surprise is how completely Crow-Armstrong overtook Ohtani, a four-time MVP who was in position to win a fifth award as late as July, according to Yahoo Sports.

Ohtani stopped pitching in early July because of a knee issue that led to an injection over the All-Star break, and his return to the mound was pushed to 2027.

As his value narrowed to hitting alone, Crow-Armstrong more than matched him, slashing .302/.397/.668 after May behind a midseason swing adjustment.

Yahoo Sports lays out the comparison voters faced: a two-way combination worth 6.4 WAR versus a hitter-plus-elite-defense package worth 10.4 WAR on Baseball Reference's calculation. By September, knee, neck and biceps issues landed Ohtani on the injured list, effectively ending the race.

Crow-Armstrong joined the 40-40 club with 45 home runs and 41 stolen bases, a group previously populated by Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ohtani, per Yahoo Sports.

He led the NL in homers, runs (119), slugging percentage (.570), OPS (.943) and total bases (357), and won his second straight Gold Glove while leading MLB in Statcast's Fielding Run Value at 26.

ESPN adds that he led both leagues with a 10.6 fWAR, drew 83 walks after just 29 the year before, and swept the Hank Aaron Award and Platinum Glove — a first since the Platinum Glove debuted in 2011, as Yahoo Sports notes.

His 45-homer, 41-steal season was only the seventh 40-40 campaign in MLB history.

It was a historic awards night across baseball: ESPN reports Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez won AL MVP unanimously after a near-triple-crown season, making it the first year ever that both MVPs and both Cy Young winners were unanimous.

The stakes now shift to October for Crow-Armstrong, who admitted he fell short when it mattered most — the Cubs lost their NL wild-card series in two games to the Padres, with him going 0-for-7.

"I'm capable but haven't gotten to the point of impacting games when it really matters," he said, per ESPN. Drafted by the Mets in 2020 and traded to Chicago in the Javier Báez deal, the 24-year-old has risen from 2023 call-up to MVP, with Yahoo Sports noting his best years may still be ahead.